We tried the xDrive 30d, which is as punchy as ever with all the performance you’re likely to need. It sounds familiar too – a distant gruff growl, which gathers into a more distinct snarl as you press hard on the throttle. The extra grunt leads to sharper acceleration – the 0-62mph time drops by 0.7- to 6.9 seconds – but fuel economy and CO2 emissions have improved by 7.4mpg and 31g/km to 45.6mpg and 164g/km.

The X5 has always had impressive handling for a car of its size, and the new model continues the trend. All new X5s will be fitted as standard with BMW’s Driving Experience Control, a toggle switch that lets the driver switch between Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and Eco Pro modes.

Comfort really is comfortable, bringing to the X5 a fluidity and level of bump absorption that simply wasn’t present in the old version. Even in Sport mode (Sport+ has the same level of damper stiffness but dials out the assistance from the ESP and traction control) this new X5 has a level of comfort that would have been utterly alien to its predecessor. Unfortunately that means it can’t match the steering feel and chassis responses of its predecessor.

The electrically-boosted steering has a lovely weighty feel to it, but it fails to transmit precisely what the front tyres are up to. As the cornering forces build, things improve, and there’s still a level of agility only the Porsche Cayenne can beat and the Range Rover Sport can equal. But it’s still not quite the drivers’ car it was.